"Commercial real estate borrowing and lending in 2015 came within a whisker of the record high level of 2007," said Jamie Woodwell, MBA's Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. "The volume was driven by improving property fundamentals, strong property values and very low interest rates. Despite some credit market disruptions to start off this year and regulatory and other hurdles still ahead, many of those positive factors remain in place."

Commercial bank portfolios were the leading capital source in 2015, responsible for $138.6 billion of the total. Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) saw the second highest volume, $99.4 billion, and were followed by life insurance companies and pension funds; Freddie Mac; Fannie Mae; and REITS, mortgage REITS and investment funds.

The reported dollar volume of commercial and multifamily mortgages closed in 2015 was 26 percent higher than the volume reported in 2014. Among repeat participants in the survey, the dollar volume of closed loans rose by 17 percent.